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Athens-Clarke County GOP meeting draws candidates for variety of offices

A slew of candidates made their pitch at the monthly meeting of the Athens-Clarke County Republican Party, enough for county Chair Matt Brewster to joke those there heard from half the lineup of this weekend’s state party convention.

The Monday event drew U.S. Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Savannah, to make his pitch to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss. Four others made their case for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens, is abandoning to run for the same job as Kingston.

Rounding out the speakers were Secretary of State Brian Kemp, by all accounts a key figure in bringing the party convention to Athens for the first time, and some stumping for leadership positions in the party when delegates vote Saturday.

The meeting, in a conference room at the Comfort Inn and Suites, was packed with staffers from various campaigns standing in the back and about twice as many people as normal in the audience.

The state convention is expected to bring up to 4,000 people to Athens, including many of the state government’s elected officials and several members of Georgia’s delegation to Washington, D.C., including both U.S. Senators.

Kemp, a Republican and Athenian, said he hopes a good showing at the two-day Classic Center event will put Athens in a rotation for the convention so it will return every few years.

“No offense to Savannah or Macon or Columbus, but there’s a lot to do here and it’s all close together,” Kemp told the audience. “Hopefully, Athens will shine with our visitors this year.”

Others simply asked for votes and attempted to rally those who could push them over the edge in next summer’s primary elections.

Kingston, in a brief speech, focused on the federal government making way for private sector job creation.

“I firmly believe jobs have to come from the private sector, not through government stimulus or bailouts,” he said.

Congressional candidate Stephen Simpson banged on President Barack Obama and his administration over the handling of the attacks in Benghazi, Libya.

“This is way bigger than Watergate, but we don’t have a media willing to go after it,” he said.

Other speakers warned of overreach by the federal government.

Fellow candidate Jody Hice warned that “we are living this close to a country of tyranny,” while Gary Gerrard told the crowd “it is time to go back and stop Congress from bribing the public with the public’s money.”

Candidate Brian Slowinski echoed that, arguing someone who is from the grass roots of the party needs “to go up to D.C. and drain the cesspool.”

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Athens-Clarke County GOP meeting draws candidates for variety of offices- By